Do you want to run a successful business? Many obstacles exist with modern document management systems. According to recent reports, the total enterprise data volume will double by 2022 worldwide, reaching a staggering 2.02 petabytes. That’s about 42.2% average annual growth from 2020 to 2022.
Roughly 80% of this data is unstructured (i.e., imaging, emails, and the rest of the data that can't be analyzed as is). This is a big issue, to say the least. As the number of unstructured data increases, hackers can shift their attention to it.
There is no doubt that the constantly growing volumes of unstructured data present a challenge. But, handling it is not that rewarding for the human workforce. That’s where intelligent document processing (IDP) comes into play. With it, enterprises make full use of their data to drive real business value.
IDP takes away the burden on employees. IDP solutions transform the semi-structured and unstructured data into information fit for machine processing. They extract insight from it, validate, and classify the data. Once you include this document-centric system, you can boost the document-driven workflow performance.
Still, an intelligent document processing system can face numerous challenges. Implementing such software can be particularly difficult for an enterprise that never used it before. Here are the challenges a logistics company can face when implementing document processing software.
- Lack of Proper Planning
One of the first decisions you will make when implementing intelligent document processing is figuring out what to do with the existing documents. You can digitize most, if not all of them, or go with the day-forward approach, which means that just documents created after IDP was implemented will be scanned into digital formats.
This phase also requires additional tasks, such as designing indexes and folder structures for documents you want to digitize. Make sure to set the priorities and determine whether to digitize by business process or department.
Every department in a corporation or massive organization will most likely strive for different things when implementing document management software. This can create new obstacles for the enterprise. For instance, the warehouse department may want to archive their packing lists first. While the accounting department might claim that the ability to match invoices should be a top priority.
All of these are valid functions. But, to be able to handle implementing IDP, you first need to set a priority list. Since doing everything at once will be impractical. Begin with the task that the software can handle the most, then expand from there. Treat every project in the company as a separate implementation.
- Inadequate Community Participation
Document management comes with numerous challenges. Proper implementation is one of them. When integrating a new document software platform, it is crucial that you don’t let the process drag out for too long.
Creating a proper timeline and sticking to it requires the in-house team to work together with the vendor and decide on the best time to implement it. Both groups need to have clear responsibilities before you create the implementation milestone.
The longer you take to make that happen, the bigger the odds for the personnel to lose track of the project and plan. For example, choose the date you want to go live and start establishing the milestones from there. Another thing to have in mind is getting support from both workers and executives.
Support is critical for any change. Particularly one that will have a massive impact on the way things are done in the office. Document management software has the capacity to change in-house operations. And not everyone will be willing to accept this change to their normal workflow. Even if that change would benefit them in the long haul.
Many people would feel overwhelmed at the thought of having to work with another software. If they don’t understand it, it makes it difficult for them to get used to it. For the software to be implemented successfully, make sure the leaders are on board with the whole idea.
You can then start working on your comprehensive plan to implement it. Having open communication can help you address any worries the management could have, including potential obstacles that may get in the way.
Focus on getting support from the people who will actually be using the software. With a clear set of guidelines and enough preparation, users can amplify their workflow and manage everything the software has to offer accordingly.
When the software is ready to go live, you will finally start training people on their distinctive roles for the novel platform. They will probably ask questions. So, prepare adequate information beforehand.
- Undefined Strategy and Actionable Business Goal
When getting started with intelligent document processing, it is easy to get swept up in the new features. People like to play around with the tech and create a pilot or proof-of-concept right off the bat. The problem is that even after a year in, you might still be playing around with the models to achieve that >95% accuracy.
Or you could only end up collecting and extracting unusable data. To prevent that from happening, start with a clear, actionable business goal and strategy that builds on the technology. Set a solid end goal that will make your investment pay off. That way, you will find it easier to create a solution and build a roadmap.
- Underestimating or Overestimating the Technological Capabilities
Many companies have wrong expectations of intelligent document processing (IDP). IDP tech offers results. But, you would need to know exactly what it has to offer to make the most of its benefits—not having enough ambition or underestimating its potential can set you up for failure.
With time, it will get in the way of potential innovation and provide unfavorable results. However, when you overestimate the software, you have a bigger odds of creating unrealistic goals. The more far-fetched they are, the harder they can be to achieve.
It’s a good idea to ask for advice when using technology such as this. Explore it and learn all its benefits and boundaries. Ideally, you should start small and grow with the technology. IDP is the next generation of automation. It can extract, process, and capture data from a number of document formats.
By incorporating the use of AI tech, like Computer Vision, natural language processing (NLP), machine learning (ML), and deep learning, it can validate, categorize and classify the extracted data. In other words, your data is a goldmine. And the software makes it accessible for business processing.
- Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) As a Problem to Consider
HITL is a branch of AI that leverages both machine and human intelligence to generate machine learning models. When using IDP, it is crucial to point out that tech such as this one constantly evolves. The human cognitive prospects are mainly unparalleled by our current tech. When you offload the document processing completely from the typical human into the automated system, you might not get the results you expect.
Instead, to get a solid effect on the overall quality of the process, bootstrapping an architecture that keeps the HITL at critical steps can help. It brings adaptability and offers iterative improvements in workflow systems. Low-code application platforms are now seen as viable candidate technologies for achieving this step.
- Constant Improvement
Rolling out the first wave of the IDP implementation is just one challenge. Building a successful platform for continual improvement is another. It’s vital to update and configure the system. This calls for regular review periods to pick the next department/process to digitize.
Take another look at the priority list you drafted during the initial phases and check if anything needs changing. With intelligent document processing, you will have the right tools at hand to boost productivity in the workplace.
How to Tackle These Challenges?
Documents play a key role in a major portion of business processes. Overcoming obstacles is not just about throwing technology at it and hoping it would work. To effectively implement and adopt IDP, you should understand exactly what it has to offer. Make plans by involving the team and rolling out the platform in stages.
Simplicity may sound easy to obtain, but a lot of companies are struggling to mitigate the extremely complicated solution to IT problems. Some logistics companies are wasting too much time on overcoming these obstacles.
Regardless of the size of the business you are trying to run, it is crucial to set the proper document management plan and mitigate the risks that come with the entire process. Explore and implement solutions that would give you key insight.
This has a massive impact on incorporating solutions and technologies. Including gaining buy-in and acceptance to use these technologies to their full potential. Integratz is here to set you on the right track. Schedule a meeting today so that we can simplify this process for you.
Our team helps companies to create their solutions, tactics, and approach, allowing them to deliver sooner and at an affordable cost. All with the help of using intelligent automation solutions. We are well-versed in areas of the supply chain, logistics, insurance, customer service, and more.
References
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1186304/total-enterprise-data-volume-location/
https://www.docdigitizer.com/document-processing-transportation-logistics/
https://www.docpath.com/art-challenges-implementing-document-software-platform/
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